This invention relates to a container according to the preamble of claim 1, in which a contact lens is stored after manufacture from which the lens may be dispensed for use by a wearer.

Conventional contact lens dispensing containers comprise a receptacle covered with a peelable foil sheet. When the wearer receives a container with a new lens, the foil sheet is removed and the storage solution and lens are tipped onto a user's palm after which a finger is inserted into the lens to pick it up. Alternatively a finger may be placed directly into the solution to remove the lens. The lens is then inserted onto the eye by the wearer by placing the finger onto the eye. This procedure can be disadvantageous if the user's finger and hand are not clean and sterile. Also, the lens may be difficult to locate visually and to manipulate as it is composed of transparent material. Further, there is a risk that the lens can be dropped, resulting in contamination or loss of the lens.

US 5695049 discloses a contact lens container suitable for direct application of a contact lens onto the wearer's eye, according to the preamble of claim 1. According to the present invention a contact lens dispensing container comprises: an upwardly opening receptacle configured to receive a single contact lens and storage solution, the container having a peripheral flange providing a planar engagement surface surrounding the receptacle;

• a peelable cover sheet securable to the engagement surface to seal the container and peelable from the engagement surface to allow removal of the content lens in use;
• an applicator comprising a handle having first and second ends, the handle being pivotably mounted on the flange, having a carrier adapted to carry a contact lens in use, the carrier being located at the first end of the handle and a hand grip located at the second end of the handle;
• the applicator being moveable between stowed and deployed positions, wherein in the stowed position the carrier is received in the receptacle with the handle not extending above the engagement surface, and in the deployed position the applicator is rotated from the stowed position so that the carrier is located above the engagement surface to facilitate direct application of the contact lens carried by the carrier onto a wearer's eye.

The dispensing container of the present invention has the advantage that the new lens may be dispensed from the container directly to a user's eye without the need for manual contact. This avoids a risk of contamination from a wearer's finger. After use the contact lens may be disposed of or may be removed and stored in a conventional container into which cleaning or disinfecting solution may be added. The present container is not intended for storage of a contact lens after use.

The receptacle and handle are preferably a unitary construction, for example formed from moulded polyethylene, polypropylene or other polymer which is sufficiently rigid and resilient to permit flexing of the hinge in use without offering excessive resistance to rotation or on the other hand a liability to fracture. The hinge may comprise a region of reduced thickness allowing the applicator to be pivotally moved relative to the receptacle. Alternatively, a pivoted linkage may be provided between the receptacle by a relatively flexible region and handle.

The handle may be laminar and co-planar with the hand grip. The handle may extend outwardly from the container and configured to facilitate gripping between a wearer's finger and thumb during use.

The carrier of the applicator may include an aperture to permit drainage of storage solution. The carrier may include a partially spherical holder for a contact lens and may have the configuration of a partially spherical or concave configuration basket or frame. Alternatively, a partially spherical or concave configuration may be used. Such an arrangement may facilitate drainage of the storage solution as the hinge is raised from the receptacle.

In an alternative embodiment, the handle may be detachable from the flange. The handle may be attached by a frangible coupling or linkage. A web of reduced thickness or having perforations may be employed. Alternatively, the handle may be attached to the flange by a snap-fit coupling arranged so that the handle may be separated from the flange as it is rotated from the stowed position towards a deployed position. For example, pins or other perforations extending from the handle may be received within sockets in the flange, one or both of the pins and sockets being resiliently deformable or frangible. Alternatively, pins or projections may extend from the flange into sockets in the handle. In a further alternative embodiment, the handle and flange may be retained in the stowed position by the peelable cover sheet, so that the handle may be freed for deployment when the cover sheet is removed or torn by rotation of the handle.

In an alternative embodiment the handle may be formed from a separate component, pivotally secured to the flange for example by a ball and socket or snap-fit hinge arrangement wherein projections from the handle or flange extend into respective sockets in the flange or handle respectively.

Alternatively, a hinge pin arrangement may be used.

In a preferred embodiment a second hand grip extends from the flange at a location remote from the hinge. This enables the wearer to hold the receptacle in one hand while dispensing the contact lens with the other hand.

The handle is preferably formed from a laminar member. The member may be received in a rebate in the flange in the stowed position. The handle may be received beneath the flange in a fully opened position of the applicator.

The receptacle may be formed of flexible material which may be deformed by upward pressure from a user's finger to urge the handle from the receptacle during dispensing. The receptacle may be formed from a thin and easily flexible sheet or film of material to facilitate dispensing in this way.

The receptacle may be any convenient shape, for example partially spherical to cooperate with the lower surface of the carrier and to minimise the volume of storage solution required.

In an alternative embodiment, two receptacles may be mounted side by side or end to end so that two lenses may be dispensed in a single pack.

In use the peelable cover sheet serves to retain the carrier of the applicator within the chamber of the receptacle. The receptacle, applicator and cover sheet form a sealed container within which the contact lens and storage solution are retained in a sterile environment during storage and transportation before use.

The invention is further described by means of example but not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

• Figures 1 to 6 show an applicator in accordance with this invention;
• Figures 7 to 14 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention; and
• Figures 15 to 18 illustrate further embodiments of the invention.

The contact lens dispensing container shown in Figures 1 to 6 comprises a rigid polymeric receptacle (1) forming a part spherical well to receive a contact lens (2) and a quantity of storage solution.

A rectangular flange (3) extends around the upper periphery of receptacle (1) to form a complete circumferential engagement surface onto which a peelable sheet (4) may be secured as shown in Figure 6 in order to form a sealed container for the contact lens and storage solution.

An applicator comprises a handle (5) having a first end (6) and a second end (7). The second end (7) is attached by an integral three-way hinge (9) to the flange (3) and to a hand grip (10). The handle (7) and hand grip (10) form a continuous member pivotable about the hinge (9) relative to the flange (3). The first end of the handle comprises a carrier (8). The carrier may comprise a spoon-like concave receptacle having a drainage hole (11) to permit drainage of storage solution as the receptacle is raised.

Alternatively, the carrier may have a lattice or basket-like configuration or may comprise a number of outwardly extending arms to support a lens without preventing fluid flow as the lens is raised from the storage solution.

A hand grip (12) extends from the flange opposite to the applicator and hand grip (10).

When assembled for storage of a contact lens, the handle is located above or co-planar with the flange (3) so that the carrier (8) is disposed completely within the receptacle. The contact lens is then placed onto the carrier (8) and the storage solution added. Finally, the foil or polymeric cover sheet (4) is applied to form a sealed enclosure for transportation and storage of the lens until it is dispensed. The top surface of the peelable sheet may be printed with information about the prescription and other characteristics of the lens as shown in Figure 6.

When the sheet (4) is removed by peeling from the flange (3), the container appears as shown in Figures 1 or 2. A user can hold the left and right grips (12,10) with the fingers of each hand. Rotation of the hand grip (10) downwardly about the hinge (9) causes the handle (5) to be raised, lifting the carrier (8) and lens (2) from the solution, as shown in Figure 3. In this position the container may be raised towards a user's eye so that the lens may be placed directly upon the user's eyeball without any need for touching the lens or tipping it into the palm of a user's hand.

Figures 4 and 5 show a fully opened position in which the arm and carrier are extended away from the receptacle. In this arrangement, the storage fluid may be poured from the receptacle.

The receptacle and applicator may be formed from a unitary moulding so that the hinge (9) forms a flexible region of reduced thickness. Alternatively, the handle and receptacle may be formed from separate components hingeably mounted by a ball and socket arrangement or by a hinge in which axle stubs extend from the handle into bearing sockets of the flange. The handle may be detachable from the receptacle as described with reference to the following figures.

Figures 7 to 9 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention, wherein the handle (20) has a neck (22) supporting a carrier with a convex upwardly facing support structure (21) upon which a contact lens (23) may rest as the handle and contact lens are moved from the stowed to the deployed position. The lens (23) contacts the central raised portion of the carrier (8) permitting storage solution to drain from the lens back into the receptacle (24), reducing adhesion of the lens to the carrier. A circular central aperture (25) is provided to promote engagement of the lens upon the support structure as the carrier is raised from the storage solution in the receptacle (24).

Handle (20) is connected by hinge (26) to a planar member (27), planar member (27) is generally rectangular in plan view and is detachably engaged within a correspondingly shaped aperture in flange (28). This arrangement allows the handle (20) copper support structure (21) and planar member (27) to be detached from the flange (28) and receptacle (24) to facilitate application of the contact lens to a user's eye.

In use of the container a user may hold the container using the hand grip (29) while the foil cover sheet (30) (shown in Figure 14) is peeled from the flange (28). Then the hand grip (31) may be grasped to rotate the handle (20) and detach the handle and planar member (27) from the flange (28) of the receptacle. The lens may then be conveniently located onto a user's eyeball.

The dimensions of the components of the container are preferably selected so that the lens conveniently rests upon the carrier during storage without a need for manual adjustment during movement to the deployed position.

In a preferred embodiment the receptacle may have a diameter at the upper surface of 19.5mm to 20mm and a length around the curved lower surface of 22mm with a depth of 4.5mm to 5mm. The carrier (21) may have a diameter of 10mm so that a lens with a typical diameter of 14mm may rest conveniently upon the carrier (21) in the stowed position shown in Figure 9. Typically the contact lens may have a diameter of 14mm and a radius of 8.3mm to 8.7mm, typically 8.6mm. Preferably the receptacle may have a diameter of 1.2mm to 1.5mm, typically about 1.3mm of the diameter of the lens.

Figures 15 to 18 illustrate alternative embodiments of the invention. In Figure 15 the carrier (40) mounted on a neck (41) on handle (42), has a upwardly curved convex configuration with four perpendicular drainage channels (43) connected to a central aperture (44) to permit convenient drainage of storage solution from the undersurface of the lens (45).

Figure 16 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the support member (50) and neck (51) are mounted on handle (52) has three upwardly extending projections (53, 54) arranged to engage and support the lower surface of lens (55), providing drainage channels (56) between the projections. The central projection (54) is larger than the two outer projections (53) to support a lens (55) preventing it from tipping sideways during insertion into a user's eye.

Figure 17 illustrates a further embodiment in which the body (60) has four upwardly extending projections (61) having upwardly facing contact surfaces arranged to engage the lower surface of a lens (62) providing drainage channels (63) between the projections to facilitate drainage of storage fluid.

Figure 18 shows a further embodiment in which the body is formed from a support frame comprising arms (64) extending between spherical or rounded projections (65, 66, 67), each projection having an upper facing support surface to engage the surface of a lens (68). The arms (64) have apertures between adjacent arms (64) allow for convenient drainage of storage soluble.